Beach Hut Trivia

How many beach huts are there in the UK?

There are no official statistics but the best estimate is about 23,000. The majority can be found on the south and east coasts of England, their location the result of tradition and favourable geography. The great news is that their number is growing all the time! Each year places which used to have huts are getting them back and popular resorts are building more to meet the high demand.

Where are the most expensive beach huts?

Interest and prices began to rise in the mid-1990s and several hut hot spots have continued to hold their own. On Mudeford Sandbank in Dorset, owners of the 350 huts are allowed to stay overnight and, with uninterrupted views to either Christchurch Harbour or the Isle of Wight, it’s perhaps unsurprising that prices have topped £120,000. Most beach huts are for day use only but that hasn’t dampened demand at places like Southwold in Suffolk where each new price peak makes the national press. You’ll also need to part with a small fortune to get a hut at Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk or along the Bournemouth/Poole coast. To find out about prices in your local area try asking the council, estate agents or beach hut owners themselves.

Where are the oldest beach huts?

This is a tricky one because huts are so vulnerable to the maritime environment. Beach huts evolved from mobile bathing machines which first appeared in the 18th century to provide privacy for people taking a medicinal dip. The wheels began to come off at the end of the Victorian period and purpose-built beach huts are known to have been in use at Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1895 though it’s highly unlikely that any of those have made it into the 21st century. The huts at Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight, started out as bathing machines so they have a good claim to considerable age. As far as municipal huts go, the first were built by Bournemouth Corporation in 1908 and the design has changed very little since then. Some huts have been around for so long that they’ve passed through several generations of the same family.

Are there beach huts in other parts of the world?

Yes. The British invented the seaside as a leisure destination and bathing machines were there almost from the beginning. As the concept spread around the world so did the idea of having a little hut to change in. Nowadays you can find beach huts and their equivalents throughout Europe - eg France, Belgium, Holland, Italy - and in the USA (where they’re called cabanas) as well as in Australia and South Africa.